Recognizing opportunities is a key to success—and that’s why I am convinced that our country, in spite of the recent recession, is still a nation of great promise. I want young people to know that.
On May 7, 1991, I stood beside President George H. W. Bush, along with four other small business owners, in the Rose Garden. “Welcome to the White House, America’s ultimate mom-and-pop operation,” the president said in greeting us. It was Small Business Week, and the president had singled us out for special merit to receive the Small Business Person of the Year Award.
“There’s an extraordinary force at work inside America,” he said, “a force that does the good work of this country, a force that embodies America’s can-do spirit. And that force, as we all know here today, is small business, made up of over 20 million men and women across the land who have taken control of their own lives, made their own choices and decisions; 20 million who stake out their goals and pursue them with determination and grit and vision; 20 million who believe in themselves, their neighbors, their country. And we’re here today to celebrate these 20 million pieces of the American Dream.”
I smiled at my wife and mother, who were there to cheer me on, and stepped forward to receive my award as the Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year. The president told those gathered that I embodied “courage . . . as an immigrant who left Taiwan in search of freedom and opportunity.”
I cherished that award, and I appreciated the acknowledgment from the highest office in the land. I’ve always believed—and I’ve been lucky enough to prove it in my own life—that a big advantage in America is the chance to create a business from scratch. But when I received that award, I was just at the beginning of making my company happen.
Thomas Edison once said, “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others . . . I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent it.” That’s a philosophy I took to heart. I believe that America is an opportunity culture and there are always new businesses waiting to be created.
The point is that when you ask, “Can anyone make it in America?” the answer is yes. As long as there are needs to be met, there will be opportunities.
